By Pastor Jerry Donovan
One of the most important social commentators of his time, Thomas Carlyle said, “The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder – a waif, a nothing, a no man.” Nothing compares with knowing God’s purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them; not success, wealth, fame or pleasure. Without a purpose life is motion without meaning, activity without direction, and events without reason. Without a purpose life is trivial, petty, and pointless.
Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life. When life has meaning, you can bear almost anything, without it, nothing is bearable. The greatest tragedy is not death, but life without purpose. Hope comes from having a purpose.
Knowing your purpose simplifies your life. It defines what you do and don’t do. It concentrates your efforts and energy on what’s important. You become effective by being selective.
Knowing your purpose motivates your life. Purpose always produces passion. Nothing energizes like a clear purpose. George Bernard Shaw wrote, “This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish, little dot of ailments, and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
Knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity. Many people spend their lives trying to create a lasting legacy on earth. They want to be remembered when they’re gone. What matters most will not be what others say about your life, but what God says. You weren’t put on earth to be remembered. You were put here to prepare for eternity!
A man once said I climbed the ladder of success, and when I got there I discovered it was leaning against the wrong wall. Just as the nine months you spent in your mother’s womb was preparation for life, so this life is preparation for the next.
God will ask us two questions when we are judged. The first is what did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ? The answer is not about your religious background, doctrinal views, or what Biblical verses you have memorized, but did you accept what Jesus did for you and did you learn to love and trust him?
The second is what did you do with what I gave you? What did you do with your life, and all the gifts, talents, opportunities, energy, relationships, and resources? Did you spend them on yourself, or did you use them for the purposes God made for you?
The answer to the first question determines where you will spend eternity. The answer to the second will determine what you do in eternity.
The Purpose Driven Life is a book and study by Rick Warren used for this article. A small group of people meet every Tuesday evening at 7:00 at the Methodist Church to read and study this book to discover God’s purpose for our life. We have committed six weeks to examine our lives and relationships. Six weeks sounds like a huge commitment. That’s 42 days. It’s been estimated that the average lifespan is 70 years or 25,550 days. Doesn’t it make sense to use 42 days to discover what purpose God has for you for however many days you have remaining on this planet?
Like anything else in life the more you put into the program the more you will get out of it. If you devote just 1 hour a day, that’s 42 hours to study this book, I guarantee you your life will be changed forever. 42 hours is less than 2 full days. Is that time worth it to you to change how you will be spending eternity?
